Gran Torino Acting and Acting Styles

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Gran Torino is not only directed by Clint Eastwood, he also stars as the main character in the film, Walt Kowalski, a widowed Korean War Veteran. Clint Eastwood is a personality actor, but also a star. Everyone recognizes his name and his work. Eastwood’s vision with this movie speaks volumes about his own integrity and depth as not only an actor and director, but as a human being. His stardom could have easily overwhelmed the message of this movie, especially considering that many of the other cast members were not well-known. Eastwood keeps a sharp eye on the messages his movie is meant to convey. I would say that Eastwood’s acting style is a combination of realism acting, which is meant to portray true human interactions; along with stylized acting such as when Walt crushes the glass in his hand after the neighbor girl is raped by the street gang.

Father Janovich is played by Christopher Carley, who has played in many movies of all types of genres. I did not expect such a wide range of genres for this actor. This fact puts him in the category of character actor or even possibly a wild card. Carley’s acting in Gran Torino was very much realism acting, as seen by his attempts to relate to Walt, but also method acting had to be used since he played the part of a Catholic Priest.

The Barber (Martin) in the town is played by John Carroll-Lynch who is also one of those very versatile actors that we have seen in many movies, yet never really knew who he was. He is also a character actor who can also be a wild card. His roll called for some stylized acting (overacting); such as when Walt brings Thao in for a lesson on how men talk to and greet each other in the grownup world. Thao’s response to the lesson provides a moment of comic relief when he leaves the barber shop and comes back in to try out his technique. There is also the underlying element of the obvious language barrier that the young man has to navigate.

This film is well worth a watch.

Sound Effects of The Wizard of Oz

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The Wizard of Oz is an excellent film to analyze the categories and functions of sound within a movie. There are three basic categories of sound in the movies. The first is dialogue, which is when the characters are speaking to each other, to themselves, or to a pet, or even to the audience. An excellent example of this is Dorothy talking to her little dog Toto throughout the movie. There are also multiple examples of the characters speaking to each other throughout the film.

A second type of sound is sound effects. The Wizard of Oz is also rich with sound effects. From the small explosive sound when the wicked witch makes her exit in a plume of red smoke, to the audible squeaks and creaks of the Tin Man as Dorothy and the Scarecrow get him oiled up to release his rusty hinges, the movie never disappoints.

The third basic category of film is that of music. Where would this movie be without the wonderful music? The movie opens with Dorothy singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” out in the yard of her Kansas farmhouse. Each friend that Dorothy encounters along the yellow brick road sings a song about the one item they need most from the wizard. The group sing arm in arm as they continue on their journey to Oz.

Another way that music is used in this film is the music that accompanies the mean old school teacher as she rides her bicycle to the farm to demand that the family hand over Toto to her because he had bitten her. As she furiously pedals, the background music keeps tempo with her. The score is chosen for its ominous overtures as well as its tempo.

The entire soundtrack of the film complements the script and story line. The lilting soft music that plays in scenes with Glenda the good witch are calming, while the stomping cadence of the wicked witch’s army is nerve-wracking and meant to inspire fear and dread. The sounds of talking trees and animals is frightening at first because these things are not supposed to be able to speak. These unexpected effects categorize the film as fantasy genre while endearing the movie to generations of viewers.

Without the soundtrack and sound effects, this movie would be totally flat. All of the scenes are carefully matched to the needed category of sound for that part of the film. Any changes or removal of any of the sound effects would be detrimental to this family classic.

American Film Institue.      https://www.afi.com/10top10/moviedetail.aspx?  id=7892&thumb=1

The Ruby Slippers-The Wizard of Oz (3/8) Movie Clip      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41ErqIMLwtQ

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Crafting a New Cinematic Style | Diverse Talents Brought Something Surprising to DALLAS BUYERS CLUB | Article: Featured Article | Dallas Buyers Club | Focus Features

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Crafting a New Cinematic Style | Diverse Talents Brought Something Surprising to DALLAS BUYERS CLUB | Article: Featured Article | Dallas Buyers Club | Focus Features.

The Dallas Buyers Club was shot in 100% natural lighting, and was made in 25 days from start to finish. This was a totally new way of making a movie. According to the above links, the talents of the entire cast and crew enabled them to achieve this feat. The movie does not feel any less professional than films made with a much larger budget and schedule. All the creative efforts paid off in a big way.

The attention to every detail from clothing to props added credibility to the film. The benefit of the natural lighting made the film feel authentic.This feeling contributed to the telling of this true story. The grocery store scene, the cheap motel used as an office, and even the scenes in the hospital drew the audience into the powerful reality the characters actually faced. Life or death; and our tenuous hold on our own mortality.

Please take the time to read the first link listed above because it explains beautifully to the lay person, the differences between how movies are normally made and produced in complete contrast to the production of this film. The natural lighting suited the genre of this film because of the story being told. Natural light is usually used in documentaries and this man’s real life struggle demanded that it be told in stark reality.

If artifical lighting had been used for this film, it would have taken away from the gritty, painful reality that conveyed the theme of this man’s struggle.

References

Crafting a New Cinematic Style | Diverse Talents Brought Something Surprising to DALLAS BUYERS CLUB | Article: Featured Article | Dallas Buyers Club | Focus Features.

:http://www.metacritic.com/movie/dallas-buyers-club

Gran Torino- an introspection

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Gran Torino, starring Clint Eastwood. Released in 2008, and also directed by Eastwood, is a story of redeemtion and of hope that touches not only the main characters of the film, but their entire community althat is being held hostage by gangs of street thugs attempting to take over the neighborhood. The movie is based on a screenplay written by Nick Schenk and Dave Johannson, and stars Clint Eastwood, as an old militatry veteran.

During Eastwood’s character’s service in the military, in the Korean War, the old man develops a distrust and dislike of oriental people because that was the enemy he was sent to war to kill. Once his wife dies, he is living out his golden years as a widower; alone except for his dog and his local parish priest. The old solider’s son and family are too busy to be bothered, and only interested in what they are going to get when both of the grandparents are passed on.

The young priest, Father Janovinch, (played by Christopher Carley), at first seems to think that Walt (Eastwood’s character), is just continuing coming to church out of some sense of obligation felt towards his dead wife, but soon discovers there is more than meets the eye with his tough old parishoner.

A family moves in next door to Walt, and they are of Asian decent. The teenage boy in the family, Thao, (played by Bee Vang), gets caught trying to steal Walt’s prize possession as a gang initiation shortly after moving in next door. The 1972 Gran Torino that Walt keeps in pristine condition in his garage is not stolen by Thao, despite his best efforts. The family feels very ashamed of what the teenager has done, and offers his services to Walt to repay him for the attempted theft. The family also begins cooking food and leaving it on Walt’s porch in lieu of apology.

Walt works the young man quite hard at various tasks of physical labor, which the young man does as instructed. Walt begins to see a glimmer of good character in the young man that he had not expected from a thief. Especially not from an Asian one. Walt’s bigotry has been taught to him to make him a solider who could kill, and he has remained ignorant of any other way since being back in the United States.

Meanwhile, the gang steps up the pressure on Thao, and his family because of the delay in Thao joining their gang. Walt has been teaching the young man how to get a respectable job and earn a living without resorting to being a criminal. The family is at the same time teaching Walt about his own heart and mistaken beliefs. The gang is unrelenting, and rapes one of the young women from the home next door, beat up on Thao on his way home from work, and finally do a drive by shooting of the house to send the family their message loud and clear.

As the story unfolds, we see the old vet hiding the blood that he is coughing up from the family that he is growing increasingly closer to. Once these lines are drawn in the sand by the gang, Walt gets his affairs in order. He then traps Thao in the basement to prevent him from ruining his young life with an act of revenge. He then goes to the house of the gang, that the police have been unable to shut down because they cannot catch them in the act of their crimes. Walt openly walks up to the house and taunts the gang. He puts one last cigarette in his mouth and then reaches inside his shirt for a lighter. The gang assumes he must be pulling a gun and opens fire, killing him.

The police are finally able to lock all the gang members up for Walt’s death, ridding the neighborhood of them in one fell swoop. Walt knew he was dying anyway, and he decided to make his death help someone else and maybe redeem his own soul for the wrongs he had done towards others.

Eastwood both directed and produced this film, and it unfolded in chronological order. His character Walt gave the Torino to Thao in his will, and his house to the church, while telling his spoiled, ingrate family his true feelings about them as well. This film was laid out with precision and the pace pulls the audience through the story all too soon.

The foreshadowing and character development used in this film are essential to the audience identifying with their story and is well worth a watch.

References:

Johnson, P.(2014). WordPressquickstartguide.Retrieved from      https://bridgepoint.equella.ecollege.com/curriculum/file/08706499-474a-4fd9-9d95cf39ed685bf6/1/WordPress%20Quick%20Start%20Guide.pdf

http://www.Amazon.com/Gran-Torino-Clint-Eastwood/

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405159/InternetMovieDatabase